When it comes to sporty handling, the 2006 Mazda 6 is among the best in the class. It offers better road holding than the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, and Nissan Altima, as well as better transient response in quick lane-change maneuvers. The Mazda 6 just feels sharper and more agile than those other cars.Zoom-zoom is in plentiful supply regardless of which model you choose. The four-cylinder Mazda 6i is a hoot to drive. Order it with the five-speed manual and the fun zone starts at about 4000 rpm, where the engine is very responsive. The 2.3-liter, double-overhead-cam engine loves to rev and acceleration is on par with that of other four-cylinder mid-size sedans. The Honda Accord may be a little quicker, but the Mazda feels younger and sportier. Below 3000 rpm, however, the four-cylinder lacks strong throttle response. We like it best with the manual gearbox, but we have not tried it with the new five-speed automatic. The manual shifter felt mushy to us at first, but that initial impression quickly faded and we found it fun to shift. Four-cylinder models with automatic transmission are classified as Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles, or PZEVs.
The 3.0-liter V6 in the Mazda 6s greatly increases the fun. It benefits from continuously variable valve timing (VVT) for its intake camshaft, providing strong torque at low rpm, a willingness to rev, good gas mileage, and nice sounds from the air intake and dual exhausts. The Mazda V6 doesn't feel like it has as much low-rpm torque as the Toyota and Honda V6s, but it loves to rev and it's a lot of fun to drive. Mazda retuned the V6 slightly for lower emissions for 2006 and says tractability has been improved. Torque has been increased to 199 pound-feet at 5000 rpm (from 192). Rated horsepower has dropped by five to 215 horsepower. Mazda 6i models with manual transmissions are certified as Low Emissions Vehicles, or LEVs.
The six-speed automatic is really smooth, yet shifting is crisp. All those gears provide improved gear spacing for the V6, keeping it in its power band under all circumstances. Having six forward gears allowed Mazda engineers to select low ratios for first and second to maximize off-the-line acceleration, tall top gears for effortless cruising, and mid-range gears optimized for snappy acceleration from highway speeds. The Sport Shift mode allows the driver to shift manually by pulling back to upshift, pushing forward to downshift.
Handling is excellent. The Mazda 6 doesn't lean much in corners, body roll being nicely controlled by the front and rear anti-roll bars. The Mazda 6 comes standard with a sports suspension with double wishbones up front and a lateral-link layout in the rear and coil springs all around. Tires on the base sedans are generously sized at 205/60VR16, with beefier 215/50VR17s on V6, Sport and Grand Touring models, including all hatchbacks and wagons. And 18-inch wheels and tires are available. Both engines are made of aluminum to keep the Mazda 6 from getting too heavy, which it isn't, at 3347 pounds for the V6 automatic sedan.
Grip is tenacious, right up to the point where the front end pushes, telling you to lighten up, and this understeer doesn't occur until you've reached competition-level speeds. Other mid-size sedans lose grip far sooner than the Mazda 6. The amount of power-steering assist backs off the faster you go, to give good road feel, although it's still on the light side at high speeds.
Though it's more fun to drive, the Mazda 6 doesn't feel quite as refined as the Accord. Ride quality is generally good, bit it can get a little jouncy on certain types of pavement and some road vibration comes through. Road noise is relatively pronounced on broken pavement, especially with the Sport trim. Wind noise comes through as well; we noticed this was particularly true with Sport trim and suspect the aerodynamic enhancements may be the cause. None of this is as uncomfortable as it sounds when described in print, and the upside is that the driver is closely attuned to the driving conditions.
The Mazda 6 comes with excellent brakes. The brake pedal has a progressive feel in normal everyday driving. The Mazda 6 can stop more quickly than other midsize cars and the brakes resist fading (loss of performance from heat buildup) when driving hard for extended periods of time, both benefits at least partly due to the lighter weight of the car. The ABS helps the driver maintain steering control in a panic braking situation by eliminating wheel lockup. Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) adjusts braking force front to rear depending on the load for improved stability and braking performance. For example, the rear brakes work harder when there are passengers in the back seat, but brake pressure to the rear is lessened under light loads to avoid locking the rear wheels.
The traction control system (TCS) helps maintain directional stability regardless of road conditions. If the TCS controller senses that the front and rear wheel speeds are out of sync on a slick surface due to loss of grip, the engine computer reduces engine power automatically. This reaction is both instantaneous and seamless to the driver.
The Mazdaspeed6 is very enjoyable on a winding road. Its turbocharged 2.3-liter engine is rated at 274 horsepower at 5500 rpm and 280 pound-feet of torque at 3000 rpm. This impressive power is sent through all four wheels resulting in rapid acceleration. It's great fun to accelerate through a corner. The engine features direct injection, which squirts the juice directly into the combustion chamber rather than into the intake manifold. The intake system handles only dry air, so the turbocharger can deliver a good percentage of its 15.6 psi as low as 2500 rpm. Indeed, the Mazdaspeed engine has superb low-end torque that adds to the driving enjoyment. The power seems to flatten out at the upper rev range, but it doesn't matter as you simply upshift into the next of six gears using the buttery smooth close-ratio gearbox.
The new six-speed manual transmission was developed specifically for the Mazdaspeed6 and uses triple-cone synchronizers on the first three gears, and a double cone on fourth, for faster shifts. This ultra-compact gearbox links the engine to Mazda's Active Torque Split All-Wheel Drive system, which monitors steering angle, yaw rate, lateral g-force and engine status to determine whether or not the water-cooled center differential should send up to 50 percent of the available torque to the Speed6's rear wheels. A torque-sensing limited-slip differential in the rear axle ensures accurate power delivery when cornering or on slippery surfaces. The clutch take-up seemed a little rough initially on one car we drove, but we quickly adjusted to it and forgot about it.
Subtle re-tuning of the entire car's structure improves torsional stiffness by 50 percent. Compared to the garden-variety Mazda 6, spring rates are 25 percent stiffer up front, 37 percent stiffer in the rear, with complementary increases in damping rates and in the thickness of the anti-roll bars. The result is tight handling. The ride is firm enough that writing or drinking a cup of cappuccino aren't easy on most roads. You hear road irregularities but the sound is damped. In short, it's not damped as nicely as a BMW, but it should be fine for everyday driving and the daily commute. Big brakes (with 12.6-inch discs in front and 12.4-inch in the rear) provide good stopping power and are easy to modulate.
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